Waiter Hit with Hammer During Oakland Protest is Recovering

Drew Cribley stood in front of windows at the Flora Restaurant and Bar where he works to keep protesters from breaking them. He never imagined one of the protesters would swing a hammer at his face.

Cribley was injured Monday night when part of a protest over the George Zimmerman verdict swept past his workplace. He and other waiters went outside to keep the protesters away from the glass. The assailant passed Cribley on thestreet and then took a swing at nearby windows. Cribley says he pushedthe man away and the protester responded by hitting him in the face with the hammer he had been using on the glass.

Cribley tells Justin Benton of the San Francisco Chronicle “I just couldn’t picture another person looking a person in the eye and cracking him in the face with a hammer.” He adds “It could have gone wrong so many ways. I could have been killed.” Fortunately, Cribley was wearing glasses at the time and believes that may have saved him. He sympathizes with the protesters but feels fortunate he has only a black eye and “no broken bones, no concussions.”

Nine people were arrested in connection with the protest last night. It was the third straight night of vandalism in Oakland. Windows were smashed at numerous stores and banks. Local news station KRON described the scene: